Emergencies Ministry members walk at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash, MH17, near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 17, 2014. (Reuters / Maxim Zmeyev) / Reuters

Russia’s Investigative Committee has confirmed the claims by a Ukrainian, who said he witnessed the deployment of a Ukrainian warplane armed with air-to-air missiles on the day the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down.

The interview was conducted on Tuesday, spokesman for the
committee Vladimir Markin told the media on Wednesday.

This followed a report in a Russian newspaper, in which the
Ukrainian citizen, who preferred to remain anonymous, voiced his
allegations.

The investigators used a polygraph during the interview, which
showed no evidence of the witness lying, he added.

“The facts were reported by the witness clearly and with no
inconsistencies. The investigators lean towards considering them
truthful. A polygraph examination confirmed them too,” the
official said.

“According to his account, he personally saw the plane
piloted by [Ukrainian military pilot] Voloshin armed with R-60
air-to-air missiles,” Markin said. “He added there was
no need for such weapons during regular air missions of the
Ukrainian Air Forces because the rebel forces had no military
aircraft.”

Markin said that the Investigative Committee will continue
gathering and analyzing evidence perpetrating to the downing of
MH17 and will share the information with the Netherlands-led
international probe into the incident, “if they really
interested in establishing the truth and send an inquiry.”

The witness is likely to be taken into protective custody in
Russia because his life may be threatened, Markin said.

The Ukrainian Security Service confirmed on Wednesday that a
Captain Voloshin does serve as a military pilot in the country’s
armed services. But it said he didn’t fly any missions on the day
the Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down.

The Russian Investigative Committee invited the Dutch or
Malaysian experts to check Voloshin using a polygraph, and
Ukraine’s Security Service to provide the military log to the
official investigation, Markin said.

“The fact that Ukraine’s Security Service has acknowledged
Voloshin’s existence is already an accomplishment,” he said.

Markin suggested the air traffic controllers operating in the
area on the day of the catastrophe should also be questioned,
adding that they should be “found” first.

“It is clear that all this is very difficult, and probably
impossible. It is much easier to call the information and
evidence provided by Russia’s Investigative Committee
‘fake’,” he said.

The Russian Defense Ministry made public radar data indicating
that a Ukrainian military jet capable of taking down the airliner
with an air-to-air missile was in the vicinity of MH17 at the
time of the incident.

The international investigation’s preliminary report said MH17
was downed by an external force, but would not elaborate on the
nature of that force, leaving the parties involved free to trade
accusations.